1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder assembly for a hand-held device, such as a tape measure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order that a hand-held device can be readily carried and instantly used whenever necessary in a construction site or the like, hand-held devices are often provided with a resilient grip that can be resiliently engaged with, and disengaged from a belt worn by an operator. Since such a grip generally exerts a substantially constant gripping force, there is a problem in the case of a thick belt that the grip cannot be readily engaged with, or disengaged from the belt. Alternatively, in the case of a thin belt, the hand-held device tends to be readily dislocated along the belt or bodily removed therefrom, as the working posture of the operator changes significantly. Needless to say, removal of the hand-held device from the belt may be hazardous particularly when the operator is working at a high construction site.
For overcoming these problems, JP 5-45502U discloses a carrying case for a tape measure, wherein the case has a slit-like opening for passing therethrough a belt that is worn by an operator. The tape measure is accommodated within the case so that the grip is engaged with a flap that is provided for the case. Since the tape measure is retained with the case solely by the resilient force of the grip, the tape measure may be inadvertently removed from the case when a severe force is applied to the tape measure.
As another solution, JP 2756783B2 discloses a safety holder that includes a main body and an insertion piece fixedly secured to a hand-held device and adapted to be detachably inserted into the main body. Here also, the main body has a slit-like opening for passing therethrough a belt that is worn by an operator. The insertion piece is provided with a pair of resilient lugs that are opposed to each other so as to be engageable with corresponding recesses in the main body. In this instance, for removing the hand-held device retained by the main body, it is necessary to deflect the lugs out of the recesses, respectively, and simultaneously move the insertion piece out of the main body while holding the hand-held device. Thus, the hand-held device cannot be removed without complicated manual operations, beside that the resilient lugs tend to be readily broken when the hand-held device is inadvertently dropped.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved holder assembly for a hand-held device, which can be readily operated in a simple manner, and which positively retains the hand-held device when it is not in use.
According to the present invention, there is provided a holder assembly for a hand-held device, comprising: a main body for holding the hand-held device, and a bracket that can be fixedly secured to the hand-held device. The main body is formed with a groove having a closed end and an open end. The bracket has a first end region with a tapered shape and a second end region opposite to the first end region, and is accommodated in the groove of the main body when the bracket is slidingly engaged into the groove from the side of the first end. The main body comprises a retainer means engageable with the second end region of the bracket when it is accommodated in the groove, for preventing withdrawal of the bracket out of the groove of the main body. The retainer means is disengageable from the second end region of the bracket for allowing the bracket to be removed out of the groove in the main body.
It is preferred that the retainer means comprises a slider movably supported by the main body, and a resilient member for normally urging the slider to a first position where the slider is engaged with the second end region of the bracket when it is accommodated in the groove, wherein the slider is manually movable to a second position against the force of the resilient member so as to be disengaged from the second end region of the bracket.
In this connection, the slider may have a top edge formed with regular ridges for preventing slipping when the top edge is engaged by thumb of an operator.
The main body may have a guide surface for the slider, which is inclined with reference to a direction in which the bracket is engaged into, and disengaged from the groove. The slider may have a top edge formed with regular ridges for preventing slipping when the top edge is engaged by thumb of an operator.
It is preferred that the closed end of the groove and the first end region of the bracket are provided with first and second positioning means, respectively, which are engageable with each other.
It is preferred that one of the main body and the bracket has a resilient lug including a free end provided with a projection, and the other of the main body and the bracket has a recess that can be engaged with, and disengaged from the projection, wherein the resilient lug is resiliently deflectable in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the bracket is engaged into, and disengaged from the groove.
It is preferred that the main body and/or the bracket are comprised of plastic material.
The main body may have a slit-like opening for passing therethrough a belt that is worn by an operator.